Wikipedia

2018 Batman by-election

Australian federal by-election

A by-election for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Batman took place on 17 March 2018. The by-election was called because on 1 February 2018, backbench Australian Labor Party MP, David Feeney, left parliament because of the 2017–18 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis.

2018 Batman by-election
← 2016 17 March 2018 2019 →
The Division of Batman (Vic) in the House of Representatives
Registered111,857
Turnout81.40% Decrease 8.28
  First party Second party
 
Candidate Ged Kearney Alex Bhathal
Party Labor Greens
Popular vote 36,840 33,725
Percentage 43.14% 39.49%
Swing Increase 7.87 Increase 3.26
TCP 54.38% 45.62%
TCP swing Increase 3.35 Decrease 3.35
The Division of Batman covered an area of 66 km2 in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. The main suburbs in the seat included Fairfield, Northcote, Preston and Reservoir.
MP before election

David Feeney
Labor

Elected MP

Ged Kearney
Labor

At the 2016 Australian federal election, the Australian Greens had come within 1% of winning the two-candidate preferred vote (TCP). Because of this, the campaign was mostly fought between the Labor candidate, former Australian Council of Trade Unions president Ged Kearney, and the Greens candidate, social worker Alex Bhathal, who had run for the seat five times previously. The Liberal Party of Australia did not run a candidate. The campaign focused heavily on the proposed Adani Carmichael coal mine and the environment. It also focused on refugee policy and Labor's proposed changes to tax policy.

Kearney won the seat with a 3.35% swing toward Labor (TCP), for a total of 54.38% of the final vote. The electorate of Batman was replaced with the Division of Cooper, which Kearney won at the 2019 and 2022 Australian federal elections.

Background

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See the main article: 2017–18 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis

On 6 December 2017, during the citizenship crisis affecting several MPs, Labor MP David Feeney revealed that he could not prove he did not hold citizenship of the United Kingdom.[1][2] Section 44 of the Constitution of Australia states that people with multiple citizenships cannot be members of parliament, so Feeney referred himself to the High Court of Australia.[2] By 19 January 2018, Feeney still could not prove he had given up his citizenship of the UK or Ireland.[3] The High Court gave Feeney's legal team an extension to 1 February to let them continue to look for the relevant documents.[3] At a press conference on 1 February 2018, Feeney announced he would resign from the seat and from politics immediately, choosing not to stand as a candidate at the by-election.[4] The date for the by-election was set at 17 March 2018, the same day as the South Australian state election.[5]

Batman had been a solidly Labor seat for the majority of its history. Since its creation in 1906, non-Labor members had only represented the electorate between 1906 and 1910, 1931–1934, and 1966–1969.[6] The Greens, however, made significant gains in vote share in the decades prior to 2017, including receiving a 9.6% swing towards them in the 2016 federal election, placing them first in the primary vote. However, Greens candidate Alex Bhathal was defeated by Feeney on the two-candidate-preferred vote 51%-49% after preference distribution. It was the sixth time Bhathal had contested the seat, having previously run in 2001, 2004, 2010, 2013 and 2016.[7]

The Australian Electoral Commission confirmed that 111,857 people were enrolled to vote in the by-election.[8] The Liberal Party did not enter a candidate. Liberal President Michael Kroger publicly stated that the party should have run a candidate if they found evidence of antisemitism in the Greens.[9]

Campaign

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Doorknockers in Batman in February 2018, advocating against the Adani Carmichael coal mine, a significant topic during the by-election.

The environment, and specifically the proposed Adani Carmichael coal mine, were focused on heavily by the Greens in the campaign. Labor leader Bill Shorten and Kearney both expressed their doubts about the project but did not rule it out completely.[10][11] On the day of the by-election, an environmental protester dressed as a fish criticised Kearney and Shorten at a polling booth.[12] The Australian Conservation Foundation campaigned by stating that only the Greens would "stop Adani's mine from going ahead", and Activist group GetUp! stated they would not assist Labor in campaigning due to Labor's position on the coal mine.[13][14] Other issues that featured in the campaigning were Labor's proposed reforms to dividend imputation (also called franking credits), a method of reducing income tax, with Kearney and Shorten holding a town hall discussing the policy.[15] The Greens also campaigned heavily on asylum seeker and refugee policy, which they thought was a weakness for Labor.[16]

Divisions within the Greens' campaign assisted Kearney.[17] During the by-election campaign, an internal complaint of bullying by Bhathal was leaked to the media. Members of the Greens' Darebin branch requested her expulsion from the party following Bhathal's support for Lidia Thorpe in the 2017 Northcote state by-election.[18][19] Four Greens councillors were involved in campaigning to have Bhathal removed as the candidate.[20] The ABC reported comments from Greens members stating they would prefer Bhathal lost, despite being in the same party.[21]

Kearney's campaign received the personal endorsement of former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who wrote a letter that was distributed to 36,000 houses within the electorate.[22] Kearney was also endorsed by EMILY's List Australia, a Labor-aligned organisation that advocates for representation of women in parliament.[23]

On 6 March, a candidates' forum was held to discuss climate change policy. Five of the candidates were invited (Kearney, Bhathal, Whitehead, Smith and McDonald), and invitations were not extended to the remaining candidates. In protest at not being invited, Lieshout protested outside the event with her mouth taped shut.[24] On 14 March, Kearney's campaign issued an apology for printing campaign material in Greek under the heading "Macedonian".[25] On polling day, reports were made of seniors receiving phone calls instructing them not to vote. In response, Labor campaigners rang seniors in the electorate to urge them to vote.[26]

Key dates

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Key dates for the by-election were:[27]

  • Thursday, 1 February 2018 – Speaker accepted Feeney's resignation from parliament
  • Wednesday, 7 February 2018 – Issue of writ, the legal document that allows the election to happen
  • Wednesday, 14 February 2018 – Close of electoral rolls (8pm)
  • Thursday, 22 February 2018 – Close of nominations (12 noon)
  • Friday, 23 February 2018 – Declaration of nominations (12 noon)
  • Tuesday, 27 February 2018 – Start of early voting
  • Saturday, 17 March 2018 – Polling day (8am to 6pm)
  • Friday, 30 March 2018 – Last day for receipt of postal votes
  • Friday, 18 May 2018 – Last day for return of writs

Candidates

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Candidates in ballot paper order[28]
Party Candidate Background
  Rise Up Yvonne Gentle Gentle is the National Secretary of Rise Up Australia and was the party's federal candidate for Dunkley in 2013 and Flinders in 2016.[29]
  Labor Ged Kearney On 2 February 2018, Labor leader Bill Shorten formally announced that Ged Kearney, president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), was Labor's candidate at the by-election.[30] Kearney had previously been pre-selected for the state seat of Brunswick at the 2018 state election, but resigned from the candidacy to contest Batman.[31]
  Greens Alex Bhathal Greens leader Richard Di Natale confirmed to Guardian Australia on 2 February 2018 that Alex Bhathal would run for the seat as the Greens' candidate.[32] A former social worker who has sat on the Darebin Ethnic Communities Council, Bhathal was the Greens' candidate for the seat 5 times previously.[33]
  Conservatives Kevin Bailey On 20 February 2018, Australian Conservatives director Lyle Shelton announced that Kevin Bailey, a businessman and former SAS soldier, would be the party's candidate at the by-election.[34]
  People's Tegan Burns Burns is not believed to have run for office before and was described by the party as "highly passionate about youth and the criminal justice system".[35]
  Liberty Alliance Debbie Robinson Robinson is the president of the Australian Liberty Alliance and was the party's lead candidate for the Senate in Western Australia in 2016.[29]
  Independent Teresa van Lieshout Perennial candidate for eight state and federal elections, most recently the Canning by-election in 2015. Van Lieshout is a self-published author on social, religious and political issues and the founder of the unregistered Voter Rights Party.[29]
  Adrian Whitehead Whitehead is an environmentalist and the founder of the unregistered Save the Planet Party. He previously contested Corangamite at the 2013 federal election.[29]
  Sustainable Australia Mark McDonald McDonald is an IT engineer and lives in Preston.[29]
  Animal Justice Miranda Smith Smith previously contested the seat of Melbourne at the 2016 federal election.[29]

Results

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2018 Batman by-election[36]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor Ged Kearney 36,840 43.14 +7.87
Greens Alex Bhathal 33,725 39.49 +3.26
Conservatives Kevin Bailey 5,471 6.41 +6.41
Animal Justice Miranda Smith 2,528 2.96 +1.29
Rise Up Australia Yvonne Gentle 2,217 2.60 +2.60
Independent Teresa van Lieshout 1,245 1.46 +1.46
Liberty Alliance Debbie Robinson 1,186 1.39 +1.39
Sustainable Australia Mark McDonald 951 1.11 +1.11
Adrian Whitehead 745 0.87 +0.87
People's Party Tegan Burns 496 0.58 +0.58
Total formal votes 85,404 93.79 +1.57
Informal votes 5,650 6.21 −1.57
Turnout 91,054 81.40 −8.28
Two-candidate-preferred result
Labor Ged Kearney 46,446 54.38 +3.35
Greens Alex Bhathal 38,958 45.62 −3.35
Labor hold Swing +3.35
 
Alluvial diagram of the full preference distribution

Polling

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Batman by-election polling
Date Firm Sample Primary vote TPP vote
ALP GRN OTH ALP GRN
2018 by-election 43.1% 39.5% 17.4% 54.4% 45.6%
18–20 Feb 2018 Lonergan Research[37] 693 40% 39% 16% 53% 47%
2016 election 35.3% 36.2% 28.5% 51.0% 49.0%

Aftermath

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Kearney's election made her the first woman to represent Batman in the seat's 112-year history and made federal Labor's caucus 48% female.[38] Opposition leader Bill Shorten described Kearney as the "Hero of Batman" for her victory.[38] Following the 2018 by-election, the Australian Electoral Commission abolished Batman and created the Division of Cooper, which had similar boundaries.[39] Kearney went on to contest Cooper at the 2019 Australian federal election and the 2022 Australian federal election, winning both times. Kearney's margin increased in 2019 to 64.65–35.35 (TCP) against the Greens' David Risstrom and was reduced in 2022 to 58.67–41.33 (TCP) against the Greens' Celeste Liddle.[40][41] The Labor party became the government at the 2022 federal election, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appointed Kearney as Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care in the Albanese government.[42][43][44]

Both Bhathal and Greens leader Richard Di Natale stated on election night that Labor's use of "big money" had significantly contributed to Kearney's victory.[45] Di Natale also stated that Labor's win was also helped by getting votes from conservatives.[45] The day after the by-election, Di Natale stated that the campaign had been damaged by internal leaking and that traditional Greens voters had been "turned off by the leaking and sabotage from a few individuals with a destructive agenda".[46][47] Divisions within the Greens that had hurt their campaign in the by-election continued following defeat. At the 2018 Victorian state election, the electoral district of Northcote was unexpectedly won by Labor's Kat Theophanous from the Greens' Lidia Thorpe. Internal analysis of the campaign found that some Greens members refused to campaign for Thorpe due to the Batman by-election fighting.[48]

Bhathal had stated during the by-election campaign that if she lost she would contest the seat at the next federal election, but she announced in August 2018 that she would not be the candidate due to "sabotage" of her by-election campaign.[49][50] In the same month, an internal Greens review dismissed the bullying allegations leaked about Bhathal during the campaign, and apologised to her.[51] In 2019, Bhathal resigned from the Greens because of "relentless organisational bullying".[52] A documentary was made about Bhathal's campaign, entitled The Candidate.[53] The screening of the film in July 2019 was sabotaged, with the fire alarm being set off as soon as the film started.[54] In 2024, Bhathal became a candidate for the West Ward at the Darebin City Council election, which will be held on 26 October 2024.[55] She will be running against current Darebin Mayor Sussane Newton, who is one of the four Greens councillors who tried to remove Bhathal as the candidate for Batman in 2018.[56]

The Liberal party stated they were not interested in the results, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison stating they did not think Labor winning in Batman meant they would win in the rest of the country.[57]

An episode of Tonightly with Tom Ballard that aired during the campaign caused controversy by referring to John Batman, who the electorate is named after, and Australian Conservatives candidate Kevin Bailey as "cunts". Communications minister Mitch Fifield and Simon Birmingham both called for someone to be sacked from the ABC over the remarks.[58] In August, the ABC found the remarks did not breach standards.[59]

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  •  
    Anti-Adani doorknockers meeting in Batman in February 2018
  •  
    A reusable coffee cup created to promote Kearney's campaign
  •  
    The rear of the cup
  •  
    A Labor party volunteer shirt from the campaign
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    An anti-Adani event held 18 May 2018. The lower-right image depicts Bill Shorten interacting with anti-Adani protesters on polling day at the by-election.

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Murphy, Katharine; Karp, Paul; Hutchens, Gareth (5 December 2017). "David Feeney says he may hold dual citizenship as more MPs' futures in balance". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "David Feeney first Labor MP referred to High Court over dual citizenship". ABC News Radio. 6 December 2017. Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Labor MP David Feeney tells high court he cannot find citizenship papers". The Guardian. 19 January 2018. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  4. ↑ Yaxley, Louise (1 February 2018). "David Feeney resigns from Parliament over dual citizenship, prompting Batman by-election". ABC News (Australia). Archived from the original on 1 February 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  5. ↑ "St Patrick's Day byelection for Batman". The Age. 7 February 2018. Archived from the original on 7 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  6. ↑ "Parliamentary Handbook, Division of Batman". Australian Parliament House Handbook. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  7. ↑ Wahlquist, Calla (17 March 2018). "Batman byelection: Labor's Ged Kearney defeats Greens' Alex Bhathal". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  8. ↑ "A total of 111 857 people are enrolled to vote in the #Batman by-election to be held on Saturday, 17 March 2018". Australian Electoral Commission. 19 February 2018. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  9. ↑ Towell, Noel (16 February 2018). "Fresh blow to Labor as Liberals stay out of Batman". The Age. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  10. ↑ Karp, Paul (2018-02-02). "Ged Kearney to run for Labor in Batman as Shorten threatens Adani's licence". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  11. ↑ Rundle, Guy (2018-03-07). "Ged Kearney won't commit Labor to blocking Adani". Crikey. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-29.
  12. ↑ "Fish grills Shorten on Adani during Batman by-election". Australian Associated Press. SBS News. Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  13. ↑ Murphy, Katharine (7 February 2018). "GetUp's action in Batman byelection hinges on Labor's Adani stance". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  14. ↑ "Stop Adani: How do parties compare in the Batman by-election?". Australian Conservation Foundation. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  15. ↑ Murphy, Katharine (2018-03-15). "Batman byelection: Shorten seeks to reassure pensioners scared by Labor tax policy". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  16. ↑ Willingham, Richard (2018-03-16). "Hipsters to working class voting in Batman by-election". ABC News. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  17. ↑ Eltham, Ben (2018-03-22). "The Batman By-Election: Labor Surges, Deflated Greens Have Some Serious Work Ahead". New Matilda. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  18. ↑ Towell, Noel (2018-01-31). "Party poopers threaten Greens' Batman push". WAtoday. Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  19. ↑ "Alex Bhathal, Greens candidate in Batman byelection, faced allegations of bullying". The Guardian. The Australian Associated Press. 2018-03-01. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  20. ↑ Carey, Adam; Towell, Noel (2018-04-06). "Greens councillors tried to take down their own Batman candidate". The Age. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  21. ↑ Curnow, Sarah; Willingham, Richard (2018-03-08). "Greens bad blood over Batman candidate intensifies ahead of by-election". ABC News. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
  22. ↑ Carey, Adam (11 March 2018). "Labor bombards Batman with Gillard letter endorsing its candidate". The Age. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  23. ↑ "Members of Parliaments". EMILY's List Australia. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  24. ↑ McGinn, Christine (2018-03-05). "Batman by-election candidates speak out". The North West Star. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
  25. ↑ "Labor apologises for 'highly offensive' Greek-Macedonian mix-up in Batman campaign". SBS News. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
  26. ↑ Anderson, Stephanie (2018-03-17). "Scandal hits Batman by-election with seniors told not to vote". ABC News. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
  27. ↑ "2018 Batman by-election". Australian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 7 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  28. ↑ "Ten candidates to contest the 2018 Batman by-election". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 29.4 29.5 "Batman by-election 2018". ABC Elections. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  30. ↑ "Shorten shifts on Adani as Labor announces Ged Kearney to run for Batman". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 2 February 2018. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  31. ↑ "Ged Kearney last-minute replacement as Brunswick MP Jane Garrett seeks safe seat". The Age. Fairfax Media. 27 September 2017. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  32. ↑ "Ged Kearney to run for Labor in Batman as Shorten threatens Adani's licence". Guardian Australia. 2 February 2018. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2018. Alex Bhathal, who Greens leader Richard Di Natale confirmed on Friday would recontest the seat, was 1.03%, or just 1,853 votes, shy of Labor in 2016.
  33. ↑ "Alex Bhathal". Australian Greens. 1 February 2018. Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  34. ↑ "Former SAS soldier Kevin Bailey to contest Batman by-election for Cory Bernardi's Australian Conservatives". Herald Sun. 20 February 2018.
  35. ↑ "Australian People's Party; Batman by-election 2018". Australian People's Party. 7 March 2017. Archived from the original on 7 March 2018.
  36. ↑ "Batman By-election". AEC Tally Room. Australian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  37. ↑ "Wilted Greens? Labor edges ahead in Batman voter poll". The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 February 2018. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 "Labor celebrates Batman by-election victory". ABC News. 2018-03-17. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
  39. ↑ "Names and boundaries of federal electoral divisions in Victoria decided". Australian Electoral Commission. 20 June 2018. Archived from the original on 19 March 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  40. ↑ Cooper, VIC Archived 15 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Tally Room 2019, Australian Electoral Commission.
  41. ↑ Cooper, VIC Archived 25 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine, 2022 Tally Room, Australian Electoral Commission.
  42. ↑ "Ms Ged Kearney MP". Parliamentary Library. Department of Parliamentary Services. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022 – via Parliament of Australia.
  43. ↑ Law, Peter; Caines, Kimberly (31 May 2022). "Albanese reveals new-look Ministry after election win". The West Australian. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  44. ↑ "History-making Labor ministry officially sworn in". ABC News. 1 June 2022. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 Willingham, Richard; Anderson, Stephanie (2018-03-17). "Labor celebrates Batman by-election victory". ABC News. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
  46. ↑ Willingham, Richard (2018-03-18). "'We have to get our own house in order': Greens leader admits leaking turned off Batman voters". ABC News. Archived from the original on 16 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
  47. ↑ Willingham, Richard (2018-03-18). "Losing Batman is a big step back for the Greens and Di Natale". ABC News. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
  48. ↑ Willingham, Richard (2019-03-28). "Internal disputes, 'relentless' Labor negativity cost Greens seats: review". ABC News. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
  49. ↑ Wahlquist, Calla (2018-02-26). "Batman byelection: can Alex Bhathal's progressive agenda turn the seat Green?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
  50. ↑ Henriques-Gomes, Luke (2018-08-10). "'Sabotage': perennial Greens candidate Alex Bhathal won't contest next election". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 8 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  51. ↑ Preiss, Benjamin (2018-08-07). "Greens apologise to Alex Bhathal over handling of bullying complaint". The Age. Archived from the original on 8 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  52. ↑ Henriques-Gomes, Luke (1 February 2019). "Former Greens candidate Alex Bhathal quits party, blaming 'organisational bullying'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  53. ↑ Towell, Noel (2019-07-08). "Greens' candidate horror show comes to the big screen". The Age. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  54. ↑ "Chaos at Greens screening". The Australian. 29 July 2019.
  55. ↑ "Nominations". Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  56. ↑ Carey, Adam; Towell, Noel (2018-04-06). "Greens councillors tried to take down their own Batman candidate". The Age. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  57. ↑ "Batman by-election: Labor hails 'great victory' as Libs bite back". SBS News. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  58. ↑ Meade, Amanda (2018-03-21). "Minister rebukes ABC over Tonightly's 'vitriolic' Australian Conservatives skit". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
  59. ↑ Meade, Amanda (2018-08-10). "Calling candidate C-word did not breach ABC standards, media watchdog says". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
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